First came the cracks.
Branches snapping. Bones breaking. Muffled laughter.
Then, the screams.
Not human screams — distorted echoes of voices that resembled the living, but carried the emptiness of the dead.
Possessed.
Human bodies taken by something that did not belong in this world. Their eyes glowed a deep crimson. They moved erratically, with spasmodic jerks, like puppets forced to dance by invisible strings.
Adam tried to stand, but his body refused. Every muscle trembled. Every bone protested. His vision blurred, the world spinning around him.
"JANAÍNA!" he shouted, voice raw.
She emerged from the trees, carrying Thomas on her shoulders, Érica running beside her, covered in mud and dried blood.
"ADAM!" Érica yelled. "There's dozens of them!"
Adam forced his legs to obey. They failed. He collapsed again, barely supporting himself.
"Run…" he tried to say, but the word died in his throat.
One of the possessed stepped beside him, walking with a grin far too wide for its face. Its eyes didn't blink. A tooth fell as it laughed.
Adam raised the revolver with a trembling hand.
Bang!
The creature dropped. But more were coming.
Twelve… twenty… thirty?
They were surrounded.
Janaína screamed, dropping Thomas for a moment and drawing a crude blade.
"We can't hold them!"
"There's no way out!" Érica cried, grabbing Adam's arm. "Get up, damn it!"
"I… can't—"
[Status: Extreme Fatigue – Mobility reduced by 70%]
[Alert: Critical physical state. Imminent risk of death.]
The possessed rushed them.
Thomas, still semi-conscious, started to laugh. A strange, drawn-out laugh that didn't sound like him.
Adam saw something in the boy's eyes. A dark shimmer. A reflection that wasn't human.
No… not Thomas too…
"Stay away from him!" Janaína screamed, shielding her brother.
Too late.
The possessed lunged.
Adam used what little strength he had left to lift his weapon again. One shot. Two. Three.
Not enough.
Janaína was thrown against a tree, blood running down her forehead.
Érica fell to her knees, screaming as one of them bit into her shoulder.
Adam tried to scream — but no sound came. His body no longer obeyed.
Only sound remained.
Screams. Cries. Twisted laughter.
Then… emptiness.
Adam collapsed onto his back, the sky still black above him.
The night wasn't ending.
The hell wasn't ending.
And for the first time… he thought he wouldn't make it.
"God… someone help me…"
But God wasn't there.
Only the darkness.
And it laughed.
Chapter – Voices at the End of the World
Pain was nothing new.
But despair… that was.
The world collapsed in screams and blood. The possessed tore through the forest, emerging from the trees like twisted shadows, hungry and hateful. Janaína fought with a broken knife, shielding Thomas, who was delirious on the ground. Érica was bleeding from her shoulder but still kicked, bit, and screamed to stay alive.
And Adam…
Fallen.
Bleeding. Drained. A buzzing drowned out the chaos around him.
[Status: Extreme Exhaustion – Mobility Reduced by 90%]
[Warning: Multiple fractures. Critical blood loss.]
But there was something else.
Something whispering through the noise. A breeze that touched his skin, though the air was still.
Whispers from Beyond – Level 3 Activated
The fog around him parted.
And there, in the middle of it all—she appeared.
Larissa.
Floating among the dead, her eyes soft, her face peaceful, as if she no longer belonged to this world — and she didn't.
"You've always been stubborn," she said, smiling with sorrow. "You think you can save everyone… but you never look at yourself."
Adam choked. His throat burned, his body ached, but his mind cleared at the sight of her.
"Why are you… why are you still here?"
"Because part of me stayed with you," she replied. "Since Crystal Lake. Since the moment I died."
She knelt beside him, touching his forehead with translucent fingers.
"Don't try to bring me back, Adam. I don't belong here anymore. Now, you need to protect those who are still alive."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I can't anymore…"
"Yes, you can," Larissa said firmly. "But only if you let go of the guilt."
She kissed his forehead.
And then, she smiled one last time.
"This is my final gift."
[Receiving: Vital Fragment of Spiritual Link – 100%]
[Temporary Regeneration – 80% of injuries stabilized]
[Warning: Larissa's soul fragment permanently consumed]
Adam's body surged with warmth. His muscles responded. The pain faded slightly — but he knew: this was a last push. A farewell.
He stood.
Shaking.
Bleeding.
But standing.
"Get behind me!" he shouted to Janaína and Érica, his voice hard as steel.
And then came the fight.
Brutal.
Merciless.
No heroism, no glory. Just survival.
Adam used everything. His rage. His pain. The cursed revolver, burning with every shot like it fired hell itself. He kicked, struck, bit. One possessed tore off two fingers from his left hand. Another shredded his right arm until it hung by tendons.
But Adam kept going.
"Not… while they're still breathing…"
Hours stretched into eternity. Every second was a nightmare. Every breath, a miracle.
Until—
The sky began to brighten.
A single bird sang.
And the last of the possessed… began to retreat. Dissolving into ash, as if sunlight itself destroyed them.
Adam collapsed to his knees.
Surrounded by corpses.
Right arm gone.
Left hand missing two fingers.
Breathing heavy. Dirty. Broken. But alive.
"I did it…" he whispered.
But then—
The breeze vanished.
And a cold presence touched his mind.
A voice spoke. Deep. Ancient. Corrupted.
"You may have survived this night…"
"…but your body will be mine, Adam."
"One day."
"When fear outweighs hope…"
"You'll call me."
PAIMON.
Adam screamed, but the vision faded. Darkness swallowed him once more.
[Mission Complete: Movie World – Hereditary]
Difficulty: Death | Status: Survivor
Survivors: 4/4
Participants: Adam, Janaína, Érica, Thomas
All Injuries Fully Healed Upon Dimensional Return
Reward Points Gained: +7,500 PR
Bonus: Critical Condition Survival – +1,000 PR
Bonus: Rare Ability Used (Whispers from Beyond) – +500 PR
Total: 9,000 Reward Points
New Items Now Available in Dimensional Shop